Booking Glory-Chapter 122: Mr. Gibson’s Troubles

Outside Rob’s office everything was silent.

The entire LWC felt like a library to Rob. The usual liveliness and busy atmosphere was nowhere to be seen.

Yesterday, many people had known that Mr. Gibson was angry with Robin and was divvying up his power. But, no one knew the reason for such actions.

However, before Mr. Gibson could give an explanation, today’s news changed things dramatically. Now, most would believe that Mr. Gibson was aware of Robin’s departure and was angry with it. No amount of pouring dirty laundry on Robin would change their impression.

Robin had effectively turned the tables on Mr. Gibson. Mr. Gibson would look petty if he slandered Robin now. This way, Robin had effectively tied Mr. Gibson’s hands.

Rob had to admit that this was a brilliant masterstroke.

Robin should have caught wind of yesterday’s events and saw the writing on the wall. So, he must have scrambled hard to find a solution. Most probably, he must have reached out to Steven and Steven must have arranged this.

Rob felt things were going pear shaped in LWC too fast. Bad news after bad news was coming in droves. The past three days have been hectic for Mr. Gibson. He was running around and putting out fires everywhere

But, the damage was done.

Robin’s influence in LWC wasn’t small. His act of jumping ship without warning would destabilize the hearts of many. Several wrestlers, who were oscillating between staying with LWC and moving on, would have been impacted heavily by this news.

As the Head Booker of LWC, Robin’s act of jumping ship sent out a dire signal to others. Robin was telling others with his actions that he doesn’t see any potential in staying with LWC.

If Robin had been fired by Mr. Gibson and then joined Wagner’s promotion it would be a different story altogether. However, that was not how things happened. This will leave many with a skewed perception that LWC’s future was bleak.

Sometimes perceptions mattered more than the truth.

Rob let out a heavy sigh. He felt a headache coming on. He didn’t think things would change this drastically. He thought LWC still had some time to turn things around.

But, it looked like the course was already set and there was nothing that could be done to alter it.

****

"What are we going to do now, Andy?" Me. Wolfe’s worried voice echoed in Mr. Gibson’s office.

Mr. Gibson didn’t reply. He was smoking his cigar, deep in thought.

"We need to do something, Andy. This is bad. There are already murmurs of LWC going under. We should do something to... to... stop everything," Mr. Wolfe sighed, not being able to find the right words to describe the spiralling situation.

"What can we do?" Mr. Gibson asked tiredly. "Things are already like this. No one is going to believe our words. Robin’s actions have effectively hamstrung us."

"Still..."

"Desmond, do you think any wrestlers would sign with us in our current situation? The questions about our financial viability to stay over are already out there. There is nothing we can do about it."

"Then, is there no other way?"

"I can’t see any other way," Mr. Gibson replied morosely.

"We might be seeing a lot of wrestlers leaving us in the coming days," Mr. Wolfe sighed.

"I know," Mr. Gibson smiled wanly. "Dallas and Irvin called. They will be leaving as well. They are ready to pay the fine for the breach. They just hoped I wouldn’t make things difficult for them."

"What!? Those old bastards! Don’t they have shame? Kicking us while we are down," Mr. Wolfe raged.

"Hah, the money they are getting is substantial. Steven has roped them in. Dallas told me that working for two years will fund his retirement. Do you think they will abandon such a deal?"

"Still..."

"The reason they called me was to give me a heads up. If it was anyone else, they wouldn’t even call. They would use lawyers to settle things. They aren’t leaving immediately. They are only leaving after our next PPV. We have time to find replacements for them until then."

"Fat load of good it does," Mr. Wolfe grumbled.

"You are missing to see the entire picture. If even Dallas and Irvin are being poached, then what about others? Tell me, how many among the original list re-signed yesterday?"

"Only Diana did, most didn’t show up for the meeting at all," Mr. Wolfe said softly.

"Then, our last window for re-signing them had passed," Mr. Gibson stated bluntly. "Don’t have any hope in getting them to stay."

"Maybe if we increase the contract amount..."

"Ha, they would all like that, won’t they? But, can we afford such a thing? If we go that route, we would end up bankrupt by February. We can’t do that," Mr. Gibson shook his head sadly.

"Andy, that is our entire top draw. The main event scene will be in shambles if we don’t re-sign them," Mr. Wolfe said worriedly. "We can’t afford such a thing. Not after..."

"Doesn’t matter. The Breeze deal is not coming. I used my connections and enquired clearly. They don’t have any intention to renew the deal with us," Mr. Gibson said, tapping his ashtray.

"That means we won’t have the burden of increasing ratings. We will be back to how we were in the beginning. Only house shows and no broadcast. We might be able to put together a PPV after some months. But, not sooner."

"It will take a long time to bounce back from this," Mr. Wolfe sighed.

"True, but we will endure. We have a loyal fan base now. But, it is not large. If we grow slowly, we might be able to come back to this stage sometime in the next three years. Right now, what’s important is to tide through the turmoil."

"Andy, I have a suggestion," Mr. Wolfe spoke hesitantly.

"Go ahead."

"Since we are rebuilding, how about we do it completely," Mr. Wolfe asked, his eyes gleaming.

"What do you mean?"

"You have seen what that kid Rob has done with the women’s division. Why not change everything similar to that. This way, we will have something unique. That will keep the fans from leaving. Since we won’t have stars, we will try to keep things interesting."

Mr. Gibson’s eyebrows rose hearing that.

"You know, the funny thing is Dallas said the same to me."

"There you go. It is not just me who sees potential in it. Why don’t we give it a try?" Mr. Wolfe asked curiously.

Mr. Gibson didn’t reply immediately. He contemplated it for a few minutes, before ultimately shaking his head.

"I don’t think it will work. Right now, what the kid is doing is novel. So, it is working. But, in time, the novelty will fade. Once the novelty fades, the risk of such a thing is very high. The chances of it turning away the fans is a bit high."

"But..."

"You remember when Steven introduced tag matches or women’s wrestling? For the first two or three months, the audience ate it up. However, as time passed, novelty faded. The interest in them became average. The same will happen here, but this kind of booking is a double edged sword. Once it doesn’t work, the audience will turn their backs."

"What if it keeps working?"

"Don’t be delusional, Desmond. Nothing works forever. With the traditional booking, at least we know the audience wouldn’t turn their backs. This one is riskier. Moreover, do you realize what doing such a thing means? We will be handing over the entire booking power to a kid in his twenties."

"Hah, so what? As long as he brings in the crowd, who cares about his age. Don’t say that you are against it. If you were, you wouldn’t have given him such power in the first place."

"It is not that simple, Desmond," Mr. Gibson sighed softly. "Do you think I would dare to trust someone who was recommended by Steven after how Robin screwed us over?"

Silence prevailed. Mr. Wolfe didn’t refute such a concern. It was impossible to do. Not when things were fresh.

"I don’t think the kid is like Robin," Mr. Wolfe said softly.

"Even so, I can’t take that risk," Mr. Gibson whispered softly. "That’s why I didn’t give him more booking power even though the kid had proved himself."

Mr. Wolfe didn’t comment. He too understood his friend’s reservations. LWC was Mr. Gibson’s life work. If he was in Mr. Gibson’s place, he would be cautious as well.

But, this way, there was no chance to reverse LWC’s decline. Things were pretty much set in stone. Unless Mr. Gibson found in his heart to trust Rob and give him a chance, things weren’t going to change.

Steven Rush had seen to that.

"Let’s wait for a few years. If the kid is still alright, I will give your idea a try," Mr. Gibson said, letting out a huge sigh.

*****

A/N: Hey folks!

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